As cryptocurrency weaves its way deeper into pop culture, it’s recently popped up in a most peculiar place: Coronation Street, the world’s longest running TV soap opera.
This is just the latest in a growing trend of crypto references in the mainstream. Crypto just earned a nod on Eminem’s latest album, Marvel mentions it in a new comic book, and many other TV shows have developed crypto plot lines, including The Big Bang Theory and HBO’s Silicon Valley.
With Coronation Street, which grabs 8 million viewers per episode, the concept of digital currency is now being exposed to an older audience. Optimists believe that once this crowd gets more comfortable with the idea of virtual money, they’ll adopt it, setting off another huge surge of public interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
In the episode, Ryan Conner, a semi-regular character since 2006, has gambled away all of his savings in Ibiza. Luckily, he remembers investing 50 quid in WhipCoin several years ago. After a quick internet search, he discovers that his investment has exploded into 250 million quid. There’s only one problem: he forgot his password.
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He does, however, remember writing the password down in a book. But Conner doesn’t end up needing the book, as he remembers the password in a bizarre flash moment. He logs into his account and realizes his original internet search on the coin is wildly outdated – and that his investment is now worthless. Ah, WhipCoin!
Although the episode puts a spotlight on Bitcoin and its wild price swings, the drama isn’t exactly over-the-top. Crypto investors have been getting whipped around for all of 2018, hoping for that next bull run.